- The Clippers aren’t anxious to trade Jamal Crawford, but trade rumors from earlier this summer, his exclusion from the team’s DeAndre Jordan recruiting effort, and the addition of newcomers at his position are inauspicious signs for his future with the team, as Dan Woike of the Orange County Register examines. Crawford seems to be wondering about whether the Clippers still appreciate him, and that doesn’t auger well for team chemistry if he’s still on the roster at the start of the season, Woike believes.
- DeMarcus Cousins is a major fan of Reggie Evans, notes Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops, who writes amid a look at the top remaining free agents. Evans, who spent the last season and a half with the Kings, remains unsigned.
- Quincy Acy has a non-guaranteed salary on the second season of his new two-year deal with the Kings instead of a player option, as had previously been reported, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- Undrafted rookie Duje Dukan‘s two-year deal with the Kings is for the minimum salary, Pincus shows on the same page.
Summer league point guard Mike James impressed the Suns, but the team doesn’t seem to have a need for another point guard, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Multiple teams are in pursuit, according to Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link), but he’s under contract with Laboral Kuxta Vitoria in Spain, Coro points out, suggesting that it would likely require a guaranteed deal with an NBA team to make it worthwhile for him to exercise his buyout clause. James, who’s not to be confused with the 12-year veteran by the same name, is inclined to play one more season in Spain, Charania adds.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Austin Rivers‘ brief tenure with Relativity Sports has met an end, tweets Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal. Rivers joined the agency after splitting with David Falk this past season. Relativity represented him as he came to a two-year deal for nearly $6.455MM to stay with father Doc Rivers and the Clippers.
- The deals that Caron Butler, Quincy Acy, and Seth Curry agreed to with the Kings are all two-year, minimum salary arrangements that are fully guaranteed the first year and include player options for the second season, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
- The performance of the Lakers‘ Summer League squad was underwhelming, leaving some around the league skeptical of the long-term future of a number of the team’s younger prospects, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. “You don’t want to draw any conclusions from a few summer games obviously,” one league executive told Deveney. “But I think in general, the way to put it is that they probably value their assets more than the rest of the league values them. Everyone gambles on young guys. You just don’t know. For [the Lakers], they could all turn out to be fine, but they’re a long way from that now.”
- The new Kings arena cleared another legal hurdle Friday, as a judge issued a ruling in favor of the city of Sacramento and against plaintiffs who asserted that the team and the city struck a side deal, writes Tony Bizjak of The Sacramento Bee. The arena is already under construction.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
WEDNESDAY, 8:08pm: The deal is official, the Kings announced.
10:19pm: Acy’s deal calls for the minimum salary, notes former Nets executive Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
MONDAY, 6:52pm: Unrestricted free agent forward Quincy Acy has agreed to a two-year deal with the Kings, reports RealGM’s Shams Charania, who cites league sources (Twitter link). The second year has a player option, Charania adds.
The Magic, Pelicans, Hawks and Spurs were teams who had shown interest in Acy, who became an unrestricted free agent after the Knicks declined to extend the qualifying offer of $1.181MM to the forward. The big man should add some front-court depth.
Acy, in his best season in the league, averaged 5.9 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game last year with the Knicks. Acy played for the Kings previously. He appeared in 56 games with Sacramento in the 2013/14 season.
The free agent signing period is now in its second day, and here are the latest rumblings from around the league:
- The Clippers, Rockets, Mavericks, Lakers, and Suns all have expressed interest in signing Amar’e Stoudemire as a backup big man, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link). Stoudemire is only interested in signing with the Clippers if DeAndre Jordan departs and he could become the starter, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times tweets.
- The Mavs will shift focus to pursuing unrestricted free agent Jordan Hill if the team misses out on signing Jordan, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets.
- Having missed out on Greg Monroe, one of their prime free agent targets, the Knicks have been in contact with Hill’s representatives, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes.
- Caron Butler, who was waived by the Bucks shortly after they had acquired him from the Pistons, is on the Knicks‘ radar thanks to his shooting ability and potential fit in the triangle offense, Marc Berman of The New York Post tweets. The Cavaliers have also been in constant contact with Butler, though no signing appears imminent, notes Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- Unrestricted free agent Quincy Acy is garnering interest from the Magic, Kings, Pelicans, Hawks, and Spurs, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (via Twitter).
- Free agent Gigi Datome is split on whether to return to the NBA next season or to play in Europe, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. The forward’s primary concern is playing time, not money, adds Himmelsbach.
- The Mavs are back in play for J.J. Barea after he was leaning toward signing with the Heat Wednesday, TNT’s David Aldridge relays in a series of tweets. The point guard is seeking a three-year deal, Aldridge adds. Dallas is optimistic it can land Barea but is waiting for other free agents to make their decisions first, notes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (on Twitter).
- Unrestricted free agent Joel Freeland said that he will sign with a European team if he doesn’t agree to an NBA contract by July 10th, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (via Twitter).
- Center Kosta Koufos has received interest from the Mavs, Lakers and Kings, Kennedy tweets. The Bucks had shown interest as well, prior to signing Greg Monroe, Kennedy adds.
- Free agent forward Derrick Williams is scheduled to meet with the Knicks and Mavericks today in Los Angeles, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets.
- The Pistons and Suns both made hard pushes to sign DeMarre Carroll, who instead inked a deal with the Raptors, Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link). Carroll was blown away by Toronto’s offer, its environment, and is a big fan of coach Dwane Casey, Arnovitz adds.
The Nets will be looking to add depth through free agency and trades and Thomas Robinson, Wesley Johnson and Sasha Kaun are players they will target, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post reports. Robinson could provide some rebounding and energy off the bench and Johnson would give them an athletic wing who can shoot 3-pointers, Bontemps continues. Both are unrestricted free agents. Kaun, a Russian center whose rights are owned by the Cavaliers, would be an ideal backup if they can re-sign Brook Lopez and work out a deal with Cleveland, Bontemps adds.
In other news around the Eastern Conference:
- The Knicks have declined to extend the qualifying offer of $1.181MM to Quincy Acy, making the forward an unrestricted free agent, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. The Kings, Nuggets, Magic and Pelicans have expressed interest in Acy, a source told Spears (Twitter links).
- DeMarre Carroll, Arron Afflalo, Tobias Harris and Kosta Koufos are the free agents the Pistons will most likely court, Terry Foster of the Detroit News reports. The Pistons believe Carroll might be easier to sign than some other unrestricted free agents, Foster continues. Danny Green and Wesley Matthews are longshot possibilities to come to Detroit, Foster adds. The Knicks also want to be “in the mix” for Green, league sources told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link). It’s unclear if Green has any interest in the Knicks, Begley adds.
- Harris’ pricetag will be at least $10MM annually in the eyes of several league executives, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets. One of those executives believes Harris’ value is in the $12-14MM range, Mannix adds. The Magic forward is a restricted free agent.
The Knicks’ 5-26 start has them just one game ahead of the league-worst Sixers in the standings. It’s been a disappointing season for New York thus far, and as we wait to see if the club turn a corner against the Kings on Sunday, let’s have a look at the latest out of the Big Apple.
- Quincy Acy and John Wall will both be punished for their altercation on Thursday’s Knicks-Wizards matchup, the league announced (hat tip to Ian Begley of ESPN.com). Acy will be suspended one game, and Wall will pay a $15K fine. Players lose 1/110th of their salary for each game they miss while suspended, according Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ, so Acy will forfeit $8,320.39.
- Phil Jackson‘s defense of the trade that sent Tyson Chandler to the Mavs is invalid, argues Marc Berman of the New York Post. Berman doesn’t believe any of the pieces obtained for the veteran center are long-term solutions for the Knicks but concedes that Cleanthony Early has a shot of making the deal look a little bit better if he can develop into an everyday player.
- Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com implores Knicks fans to be patient with the rebuilding process that Jackson and Derek Fisher are spearheading in New York. Although Fisher might look uncomfortable as coach at times, Youngmisuk points to the improvement Jason Kidd made leading the bench from year one to year two.
Indiana lost out on Shawn Marion this weekend, and the Pacers also let a degree of flexibility lapse when Donald Sloan‘s non-guaranteed minimum salary became fully guaranteed. President of basketball operations Larry Bird said last week that the team had no intention of waiving the point guard before his deal became guaranteed, so it was no shock. It wasn’t surprising to see the Knicks keep Quincy Acy and his minimum salary past his guarantee date on Friday, either, since that was reportedly part of the team’s deal to acquire the power forward via trade from Sacramento. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Pacers indeed offered Marion more than the minimum salary that the Cavs are limited to doling out, according to Shams Charania of RealGM. Marion reportedly decided this weekend to sign with the Cleveland.
- Kyrie Irving is the primary focus of Charania’s piece, and while there were plenty of rumors that suggested his extension talks wouldn’t be easy, he acknowledged to the RealGM scribe that the choice to sign a max deal with the Cavs last month was a simple one. Irving also insists that he had no influence on the team’s coaching search this year.
- Michael Carter-Williams is ready to step up and be a leader for the Sixers if Thaddeus Young is traded this coming weekend, writes Tom Moore of Calkins Media.
- Sixers draft-and-stash prospect Furkan Aldemir has officially signed a new three-year deal with Galatasaray of Turkey, the team announced (hat tip to Sportando’s Enea Trapani). The sides came to agreement back in May on the $5.3MM deal that includes an option for the final season. Whether it’s a team or player option and what sort of NBA buyout clauses exist are unclear.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Donald Sterling hasn’t ruled out appealing the sale of the Clippers to the California State Supreme Court, but his attorney, Maxwell Blecher, said, “No final decision has been made,” writes Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Warriors guard Shaun Livingston underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right big toe earlier this week, and is expected to be out a minimum of six-to-eight weeks, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
- Livingston’s surgery wasn’t something the Warriors were planning on, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. The rehab involved will keep Livingston out of action until at least the beginning of training camp, if not longer, notes Kawakami.
- The Atlantic Division might be better than many think this season, writes Lenn Robbins of NBA.com. Robbins weighs in on where each team stands heading into the season, and thinks that the Raptors are the favorites to repeat as division champs.
- The Knicks have fully guaranteed Quincy Acy‘s 2014/15 contract today, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link). Acy is scheduled to make $915,243 next season.
Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro offered some comments on the team’s offseason thus far, including the thought process behind their recent trade with the Knicks, the impression that the rookies have made at this point, and how he expects Darren Collison to significantly contribute next season. D’Alessandro covers several other topics in his recent Q&A session with NBA.com, but you can find some of the interview’s more notable highlights below:
On dealing Quincy Acy and Travis Outlaw to New York and what it meant for Sacramento:
“First, I would say Quincy did a phenomenal job for us – we loved Quincy. I think when we looked at our positioning and the positions we had filled, it became much more difficult. So we worked with Quincy – in a partnership with him – to make something happen that worked for him and worked for us. And we’re really happy for him because I think he’s going to play really well for the Knicks. On our end, we give ourselves a little flexibility. We took some protection off a pick, which we now have in an unconditional manner and we got a young player who has a chance to make our team and who’s an exceptional shooter. So we have flexibility and also we have other players in which we’re negotiating with who we think could fill the role that Travis played, which was a huge role.
Travis is another hard guy to let go – he was such a good citizen and a really good player for us. So overall, it was a broad brush of things that it did for us and cleaned some things up and it put us in position for future [moves]. For Quincy and Travis, we wish them the best and really do thank them – they are great guys and great players.”
On rookie Nik Stauskas:
“We have high hopes for Nik. He’s very young so we’re not going to put a lot of pressure on him this year, but I don’t think we don’t need to. He puts a lot of pressure on himself. We have very high hopes for him as a player, as a shooter, and as a guy who can help us to stretch the floor, so there’s a lot of opportunities for him… (What stands out about him right now is) confidence. If he gets three shots, he feels like he’s going to make all three. If he gets 20 shots, he feels like he’s going to make 20. He’s not a guy that will ever have the ball in his hands and feel like he’s not going to succeed with it and you saw that in Summer League. We didn’t go to him as often as we might have, but nothing really fazed him. He continued to shoot the ball well and do what he does. So we’re looking forward to his development.”
On Deonte Burton:
“…With Deonte we see a guy with a lot of promise. A lot of guys saw him highly ranked, but he didn’t get drafted. And this Draft was such a tough one because it was so loaded and stacked. When you got to the second round you just didn’t know what was going to happen – there were teams who didn’t necessarily want to bring guys in, so they take guys who are stashed. Deonte’s not a guy who wanted to be stashed – he feels like he’s an NBA player and we would like to see what he has…“He [had] a great (draft) workout. He’s a great kid too – I think he fits in with what we’re trying to do. We’re excited that he’ll be part of this process and training camp and he’ll have an opportunity to try to make the team.”
On Eric Moreland:
“I thought [he brought] energy and he had an ability to block shots, but really just how hard he plays…These guys come in and play hard – they play really hard and we expect that out of Eric and that’s what it’s going to take for him to succeed in this league…(Players with his skill set) translate to almost any system because those are the guys who raise the energy of your team and the players around them. To me, you can insert a guy who’s 22-years-old and now it’s up to him. It’s up to him to step in and create a niche for himself.”
On how he expects Darren Collison to have an impact:
“[He’s another guy with a high] motor – a guy who can just go, flat-out go. He can help pick up our pace. He’s a great veteran and he’s a guy we look forward to bringing more than just his skills [to our team]…You’re talking about a guy who has playoff experience – a guy who has an expectation of winning. When I talk to Darren, it’s always ‘how do we make the playoffs? How do we get there?’ That’s something that’s important to me – that you have players that are thinking that way, and more important, acting that way…His ability to pull it together – we talk about the-straw-that-stirs-the-drink analogy and that’s [our] hope for him. We want him to be that guy that brings out the talent from everyone else, while also showing his talent and leadership in the process.”
4:29pm: The Knicks and Kings have officially announced the trade. Prigioni isn’t involved, so Acy, Outlaw, Ellington and Tyler are the only players changing teams. Sacramento’s statement confirms that New York removed all protection on the 2016 second-round pick going to the Kings.
4:12pm: The Kings have yet to make a final decision about waiving Ellington, according to the latest version of Amick’s story.
3:52pm: New York will guarantee Acy’s minimum salary as part of the deal, Amick tweets.
3:40pm: The Knicks will remove the protection on their own 2016 second-rounder that they already owed to Sacramento rather than send a separate second-round pick to the Kings, as Amick clarifies via Twitter. New York was to have kept the pick if it fell between Nos. 31 and 37, but it’s now entirely unprotected.
3:34pm: Frank Isola of the New York Daily News hears indications that the Knicks will part with Prigioni, too (Twitter link).
3:16pm: The Knicks and Kings have reached agreement on a deal that will send Quincy Acy and Travis Outlaw to New York for Wayne Ellington and Jeremy Tyler, reports Sam Amick of USA Today. Other players will likely be involved in the deal, too. The Kings are expected to waive Ellington and Tyler to clear space beneath the luxury tax line, according to Amick. They can clear Tyler’s minimum salary with ease since it’s non-guaranteed, but they’d use the stretch provision to help clear Ellington’s pay of more than $2.771MM from their books, as Amick points out. Sacramento will also pick up a 2016 second-round pick from New York, Amick writes.
The Knicks had reportedly been trying to trade Wayne Ellington and were open to deals involving Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith and Shane Larkin as they sought to clear a logjam in the backcourt, and specifically at shooting guard. The team had also been mulling whether to include Pablo Prigioni in a deal involving Ellington.
Sacramento has been only about $61K beneath the luxury tax threshold after striking a deal to sign Omri Casspi, and they negotiated with Acy to move the date his minimum-salary contract becomes fully guaranteed from July 25th to August 15th. The raw swap of salaries in the structure of the deal as it stands would give the Kings a net savings of only about $200K, but stretching Ellington’s salary will give Sacramento more breathing room.
Ellington is on an expiring contract, so the Kings would have to waive him prior to September, when the stretch provision would no longer allow the team to reduce his salary for the coming season. Providing they waive him this month, Ellington’s salary would be spread in equal amounts over the next three seasons. So, the Kings would be responsible for close to $924K for him each season through 2016/17, and the move would give them more than $1.8MM in additional space beneath the tax line for this year.
Acy carved out a role in the rotation for the Kings this past season after coming over in the midseason Rudy Gay swap. He averaged 2.7 points and 3.6 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per contest for Sacramento. That works out to a rate of 9.2 rebounds per 36 minutes, demonstrating proficient board work for a player listed at 6’7″. Outlaw saw slightly more playing time, notching 5.4 PPG in 16.9 MPG, sometimes filling in at shooting guard for a depleted Kings backcourt down the stretch of the season. He’ll be on New York’s books for a guaranteed $3MM this season in the final year of a five-year, $35MM deal that the Nets amnestied in 2011. Sacramento put in a partial claim that year, leaving Brooklyn to pay $4MM to Outlaw each year until the contract expires next summer.
Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images.